Scaredy Cat
by jekkah
Summary: A frightened JJ shows up at Hotch's hotel room in the middle of the night *Written for the Great Season Eight Bet over on Facebook*


_Author's Note: This was written for the winners of the Great Season Eight Bet over on Facebook where we each selected the person we thought was going to be the one to die. The winners receive stories of the pairing of their choice from all of the rest of us. We had two winners – **Whimsical** and **Shannon R.** I couldn't choose which story to select for whom so you ladies get to share both! Enjoy and Congratulations!_

**SCAREDY CAT**

It was dark. Too dark. She couldn't see anything around her, but she could hear; could hear the sounds of footsteps and breathing. Her breathing, it's breathing, she couldn't tell, but it was there. Getting closer. All of her nerves stood on edge as it came closer still.

Jennifer Jareau sat up with a heaving gasp. It took her a few moments to place where she was. She was in her hotel room in Alabama. The light beside her bed was on as was the television. Why were the light and television on? Oh, right. She had spent the evening watching "Paranormal Witness" as the weather had grounded their flight home and the hotel had no bar, proceeded to scare herself, and had to sleep with the light on.

Sighing, JJ laid back down and curled on her side. She closed her eyes only to immediately reopen them when her dream began to creep back in. She jumped out of bed.

"Oh, screw this!" She hurried from her room wearing only a light blue t-shirt and pink and green striped short shorts, her feet bare. She took a quick glance down the hall to make sure no one from her team was there before quickly making her way to the room at the end.

Pounding on the door, she felt her heart thumping crazily as the shadows seemed to be closing in on her. Her knocking increased and she began to shake slightly. JJ squeaked when the door opened.

"JJ?" Hotch asked, peering at her. Surprise covered every inch of his face.

"Can I stay with you?" she replied, squeezing past him into the room.

Hotch closed the door slowly, running his hand over his face as he tried to seep through the fog of sleep to understand what was happening. "You want to stay here?"

JJ nodded, her blue eyes pleading. "Yes."

"Were you watching 'Paranormal Witness' again?" he questioned, a hint of amusement in his tone. This wasn't the first time that she had shown up in his room in the middle of the night. He knew she had done it to Emily, too, on occasion.

"Maybe," she muttered.

Hotch chuckled, shaking his head. "You really have to stop doing that. You know how much it freaks you out."

JJ grimaced. "I know. But it's so good! So, can I stay in here?"

"Here's the thing," he told her, gesturing to the room, "I only have one bed."

She bit her bottom lip. "It's a big bed."

Hotch raised an eyebrow as he studied her. Her fear was evident and he knew that he wouldn't be able to turn her away, despite the dubious ethics. "Get in."

"Thank you!" JJ exclaimed. She gave him a quick hug, startling them both before hopping into bed. She laid on the edge near the window, turning away from him so that it would be less awkward.

"Good night, Jayje," Hotch told her, shutting the light off. He crawled into the other side, laying on his back. He closed his own eyes and began to drift off to sleep, lolled by JJ's steady breathing. He had just started to dream when he felt a hand on his arm. Hotch smiled, enveloping JJ's small hand in his larger one before allowing the Sandman to take him away.

He awoke sometime later to a tickling sensation on his stomach and warm breathe on his neck. He opened one eye and looked down, seeing only a mass of blond hair. It took him a moment to place why he was in bed with woman. Not just any woman, he was in bed with JJ. He would recognize her scent anywhere.

"JJ," Hotch grunted, grabbing the hand on his stomach to still her. It was only then that he realized his other hand was firmly on her behind.

"Hotch?" JJ groaned. She buried her face into his chest before popping her head up. She peeked at their intertwined legs, blushing furiously. "I am so sorry. I should go back to my own room."

He kept a tight grasp on her to stop her from running out in a panic. "JJ, relax. I just... didn't want your hands to wander someplace that you wouldn't want them to wander."

JJ's bottom lip quivered. "I should go."

"JJ," Hotch whispered. He let go of her hand to wipe the tear that had fallen from her eye. "It's not a big deal."

"It is," she protested, hiding her face in his neck. "Everything that I do lately is all wrong."

Hotch ran his hands up and down her back in a soothing manner, trying to stop her sobs before they really got going. "What are you talking about? You haven't done anything wrong"

JJ shook her head, which had the effect of rubbing her body against Hotch's. "I failed at my marriage so badly that I drove Will back New Orleans. My son cries for his dad all the time. I scared myself so badly that I had to crawl into bed with my boss and I probably just ruined the closest friendship I have right now because my unconscious is so hard up that it's molesting you in my sleep."

"JJ." Hotch had to pause to stop his laughter, knowing she was upset. "Will left because he chose to leave. You didn't drive him away; you did everything you could to keep your marriage together. You were just two different people."

"I could have left the BAU like he wanted," she protested.

Hotch kissed the top of her head. "Then, you wouldn't have been you. You were miserable the year that you were away from us, remember?" She nodded. "And, yes, Henry misses his dad, but he still gets to talk to him almost every day over the phone and the computer. When he and Jack were together last weekend, he didn't mention Will once. That's an improvement."

JJ sighed. "I guess."

"As far as you and I are concerned, you absolutely didn't ruin anything by coming in here," Hotch said, emphatically. "In fact, you are welcome to come in here every night if you want."

"Hotch!" JJ said, sharply, lifting her head up to stare him in the eyes.

His cheeks heated up. "I- I meant, that I want to be here for you if ever you need me and that you shouldn't feel awkward about that."

JJ's eyes dropped briefly to his lips as she licked her own. "So, you're here for me in whatever way that I need?"

"Yeah," he creaked.

"So, if I need you to tuck me at night, you'll do it?" she asked, smirking when he nodded wordlessly. "And if I need you to read me a bedtime story, you'll do that, too?" Again, he nodded. JJ was enjoying the slow teasing. "And if I need a good night kiss, you'll-"

She was cut off abruptly by his lips ascending onto hers. He rolled them so that she lay partially beneath him, never breaking the kiss. JJ grabbed the sides of his face to keep him close while he stroked her abdomen. Hotch broke the kiss when JJ began to make an urgent noise in the back of her throat.

"Do you think-" Hotch squawked. He took a deep breath and started again in a more normal voice. "Do you think that we could do that more often?"

JJ brushed her thumbs over his lips. "I think we could do that more often."

Hotch grinned, lazily. "And dinner? Do you think we could do that sometime? Just the two of us?"

"Most definitely."

"JJ," he grew serious, "I really do have feelings for you that I'd like to explore. I know it's going to be difficult with the team and the boys and our pasts, but I think we could be good for each other. I-"

"Hotch." JJ placed a soft kiss on his lips to shut him up. "I think the exact same thing."

He let out a huge sigh of relief. Hotch shifted so that he laid back on the bed, pulling her flush against him. "I am so glad that you were watching 'Paranormal Witness' tonight."

JJ smiled, settling down to sleep. "I'm suddenly seeing it in a whole new light myself."

END


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